Georgian President Accuses Government of Constitutional Coup After It Rejects EU Path

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has made an emergency statement in connection with the government's decision to suspend the country's European integration process, calling it ‘a full stop to the constitutional coup’, Ukrinform reports.

‘Today, the constitutional coup, which has been going on for several weeks or even months, has been put to an end. The movement from Europe to Russia has been put to an end. If anyone had any doubts, these doubts have been dispelled today,’ the president said at a briefing.

According to Zourabichvili, today ‘the non-existent, illegitimate government has declared not peace, but war - against its own people, its own past and its own future’.

‘There is no Georgian statehood, no independence, no future without Russia on this path,’ Zourabichvili added.

The head of state's statements came against the backdrop of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's statement that the country was abandoning negotiations on joining the EU until 2029. This was reported by Interpressnews. ‘We also refuse any budget grants from the European Union until the end of 2028,’ he added.

Prior to the briefing, Zourabichvili met with representatives of the diplomatic corps and leaders of the pro-Western opposition. According to her, there is nothing left to prove when it comes to changing Georgia's foreign policy course, everything is already clear. She pointed out that just a few minutes after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's speech in which he announced the suspension of European integration, Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘expressed his satisfaction and praised the Georgian authorities for their obedience’.

According to Zourabichvili, she urged diplomats ‘to make decisions right now that should have been made long ago’ and called on the West to help Georgian society solve the main task of calling and holding new parliamentary elections.

The President also commented on her meeting with opposition leaders, calling on different political parties to unite and put aside their differences, noting that ‘today, in the face of this challenge, we will either be together or we will not be together.’

Salome Zourabichvili also stated that there is a resistance movement in Georgia. She promised that she would remain president until the end, stressing that today she remains the only legitimate institution and the only person with the right to ‘speak to the world on behalf of Georgian society’.

During his scandalous speech, Prime Minister Kobakhidze also noted that the opening of negotiations on joining the European Union was being used as a tool to blackmail Tbilisi. ‘It is categorically unacceptable to consider integration into the European Union as a favour,’ he said.

Kobakhidze's statement came after the European Parliament in its resolution called for the non-recognition of the 26 October parliamentary elections in Georgia, which were declared victorious by the Georgian Dream.

Earlier, at the summit on 17 October in Brussels, EU leaders reiterated their statement that Georgia's European integration process had effectively stopped, citing anti-democratic decisions by the authorities, including the law on ‘foreign agents’ and against ‘LGBT propaganda’.

At the moment, protests against the government's decision are taking place in major Georgian cities. People are taking to the streets and blocking roads. There are reports of clashes with the police. Protesters say that this decision is a betrayal of the country's interests.